LATE GOAL VAULTS PHOENIX PAST SEA DOGS

by

Tim Roszell

SAINT JOHN – Nicolas Poulin scored his second goal of the game with more than two minutes left in the third period to give the Sherbrooke Phoenix a 5-4 victory over the Saint John Sea Dogs, Thursday at Harbour Station.

The Phoenix got the only goal of the opening period more than six minutes in, when a turnover by goalie and Sherbrooke-native Alex D’Orio behind the Sea Dogs’ net found its way to Alexeyev, who deposited the puck into an open cage with a backhander inside the right post.

Boucher tied the game nearly two minutes into the second as the teams skated 4-on-4.

Joe Veleno danced into the Sherbrooke zone on the right wing, slipped past several Phoenix defenders and muscled the puck to the front of the goal. Boucher chipped it past the glove of goalie Evan Fitzpatrick.

Saint John took the lead with a shorthanded goal near the nine-minute mark.

William Poirier chased down a loose puck on the left side of the Sherbrooke zone and knifed a backhand pass into the slot for Green. The fourth-year pivot rifled a wrister under the glove of Fitzpatrick, his former midget teammate.

Sherbrooke evened the score again with seven minutes to go in the period.

An initial shot by Alexeyev was denied by D’Orio, but the rebound deflected off the body of Roy and past the goaltender to make it a 2-2.

Just over a minute later, Poulin carried the puck down the left wing, drove toward the net and slipped a backhand shot through D’Orio’s legs.

The visitors took a two-goal lead early in the third when Tardif brought the puck into the Saint John zone on the right wing, stepped into the circle and whistled a heavy wrist shot past D’Orio’s blocker.

But the Sea Dogs fought back with two goals near the five-minute mark which came 73-seconds apart.

First, moments after the end of a power play chance, Cole Reginato fed a pass from the right corner to the front of the net that hit a skate and stayed in the low slot. Gursoy raced in from the left side and whipped a wrister past Fitzpatrick’s glove.

Then Salda tied the game again with a power play goal.

Veleno fired a shot from the middle of the blueline that deflected into the left circle. Salda stepped into a one-timer and slapped it past a sprawling Fitzpatrick to make it a 4-4 game.

Poulin scored the winner with a long shot from the left side that got past D’Orio’s glove.

Fitzpatrick, who billets at D’Orio’s home in Sherbrooke, picked up the win with 31 saves. D’Orio turned aside 34 shots in a losing cause.

Poulin finished with three points and was named first star. Veleno’s two assists made him second star while Boucher’s two points prompted a third-star selection in front of 4,654 fans in attendance.

Saint John’s next game is Friday, November 10th, at 7 p.m. against the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at Harbour Station. The Sea Dogs will hold a special ceremony prior to the game to recognize Equipment Manager David “DK” Kelly, who worked his 800th career QMJHL game on Thursday.

About

Subscribe to our Newsletter

The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) cares about your privacy. Thank you for your interest in our network of websites, newsletters, and other services. We believe in fully disclosing the methods to which we collect and use your personal information. We also invite you to ask us about our policies or feel free to let us know how we can better serve your privacy concerns.